Access Health CT Will Have Special Open Enrollment In April

Just finding out you face a tax penalty for going without health insurance? Access Health CT has an offer

The state's health care exchange will have a special enrollment period in April for Connecticut residents who are paying a tax penalty for not having heath care coverage in 2014 — and want to at least minimize a similar penalty a year from now.

Even if they enroll in April, those individuals would still be on the hook for the months in 2015 that they went without coverage.

"This special enrollment period is designed to allow such individuals the opportunity to get covered for the remainder of the year and avoid additional penalties for 2015," the exchange, Access Health CT, announced Tuesday.

The exchange will accept enrollment through April for people who can attest that they paid the penalty when filing their 2014 tax return, and can declare that they only learned of the penalty while preparing their return — provided that realization came after the Access Health CT regular enrollment deadline of Feb. 15.

"Since this is the first tax filing season where consumers may have to pay a penalty or claim an exemption for not having health care coverage, we want to make sure those who were not aware or did not understand the requirement have an opportunity to obtain coverage and avoid the tax penalty next year," exchange CEO Jim Wadleigh said in a prepared statement released Tuesday.

Non-exempt adults who did not have health care coverage in 2014 must pay $95, or 1 percent of their income, whichever is greater, as a penalty, the health exchange said. The payment is due when they file their taxes. In 2015, the penalty rises to $325 or 2 percent of income.